Snow Tires - Again!

[billski]

We usually beat this one to death a couple times a year. Want to give a first hand testimonial this year, because of all the snow we've been driving in as of late.

We have two cars, first is my wife's front wheel drive minivan and and mine in an all wheel drive sedan. The minivan has had snows for a couple years now, but this is the first year my wife had to drive about during the snow on unplowed roads. I also took the van on my world tour to Suicide to Skiway to Whaleback. The van performed flawlessly on the loose-snow and hardpack, hilly, winding backroads from Suicide to Skiway. The van has the Blizzak Revos. I loved it. My wife even says its "a lot better", which is a compliment since she is hesitant to drive in the snow.

The sedan got snow tires this year for the first time in years. I've been commuting to skiing for 28 years with no snow tires. I always had snows when i lived in WNY and NNY, but bagged them when I moved to Boston. Loved it. I'm very comfortable in the snow to begin with, but the hardpacked backroads to Stratton were the first real test (I drive a lot of backroads.) Loved the tires. These are the "performance" Blizzak tires,purchased since I spend 95% of my miles on highways and treated primary main roads. So I'm convinced now, I would be happy with snows on Front wheel drive, and the all wheel drive just gives a touch more of confidence in certain situations. I can't wait to try the steep local roads in Stowe this weekend.

 

[BigJay]

I have new snow tires this year and i'm not too impressed. I've been a fan of Toyo Tires for years. I've had the very reliable Observer G02 for years. Then switched to the Garit HT when i needed a bigger tire (205-55-16).

This year i went with the newer version, the Garit KX. It's super stable and reliable... but they do spin a bit more... But i don't see much of a difference on gas on the highway... So that's good. But up here in snow country, i think i'll replace them next year with a more "snow friendly" tire.

So for someone who drives a lot on dry highways to get to the mountain, they would be a great buy! But in deep snow on backroads, they do the job... Just not as good as the previous version... Maybe i'll get some Nokian next year... but they're just so expensive it hurts!

 

[Marc]

Got some Firestone Winterforce tires for the Subbie. Cheap... $55 on tirerack. And so far ridiculous traction. I went out bombing through the fields (yeah, kinda redneck, I know) and they were fine. The car went from a stop on a pretty steep hill.

They're a bit noisy and were apparently a little hard to balance judging by the number of weights I found on the wheels, but I don't mind. I like the piece of mind knowing I can go pretty much anywhere, anytime.

 

[Geoff]

So for someone who drives a lot on dry highways to get to the mountain, they would be a great buy! But in deep snow on backroads, they do the job... Just not as good as the previous version... Maybe i'll get some Nokian next year... but they're just so expensive it hurts!

Goss Tire in Rutland has an October sale on Nokians. Some very frugal friends of mine shopped hard and couldn't beat that price. Kind of a haul from the Canadian border but at least you now know it's an option.

 

[roark]

I also got some cheap tires off tire rack this summer. In my case, 16" Blizzak Revos at ~$55. Combined with full time AWD on the Mitsu Outlander pretty darn solid in the snow. My drive to Magic is typically about 1:15, did it in 1:23 yesterday (slow downs due to catching other, much slower vehicles).

Cheapo studded 13" wintersomethingorothers on the econobox makes it rather capable as well. I've driven in bumper+ deep snow - visibility was poor but traction was good.

Your car is only as good as the tires and brakes.

 

[St. Bear]

I got Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D this year for my Madza3.

 

[Glenn]

I had snow tires on my old car; a FWD Jetta. I thought they made a great difference in the snow.

We took our A6 out to my company Christmas party Saturday night and with new all seasons, it did just fine. Quattro rocks. Would it be better with snows? Probably. But we usually take the Jeep skiing. And I just put a set of Firestone Destination A/T's on that. So far, those are awesome in the snow. I just need some deeper stuff to test it out in.

One thing I didn't like about snow tires: Driving them one dry roads. Those sipes combines with big tread blocks made it feel like you were driving on pencil erasers. I guess in a perfect world, I'd have a lift in the garage and I could swap wheels/tires as the weather changed.

Speaking off...I always enjoyed having my snows mounted on a different set of wheels. That way, I could swap them over myself in the driveway with a jack and my impact wrench.

 

[BigJay]

Goss Tire in Rutland has an October sale on Nokians. Some very frugal friends of mine shopped hard and couldn't beat that price. Kind of a haul from the Canadian border but at least you now know it's an option.

Thanks for the tip... It is a long drive just for tires... It would have to be a VERY sweet deal to justify 5 hours driving the car to Rutland and back!

 

[Geoff]

Thanks for the tip... It is a long drive just for tires... It would have to be a VERY sweet deal to justify 5 hours driving the car to Rutland and back!

...but if you already had to be in Burlington for some reason in October, 65 miles down to Rutland might be worth at least making the phone call. I don't know what they have for sale prices... I just know that the most frugal people I know in the world were talking about it in December so it must have been a pretty good deal.

 

[BigJay]

...but if you already had to be in Burlington for some reason in October, 65 miles down to Rutland might be worth at least making the phone call. I don't know what they have for sale prices... I just know that the most frugal people I know in the world were talking about it in December so it must have been a pretty good deal.

Don't get me wrong, i do appreciate the tip. Thanks!

 

[andyzee]

They cost a good deal, between all charges, I purchased 4 and had them mounted for about $900 this past August. But I swear by the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revos. They have great traction in the snow and rain.

 

[nelsapbm]

Goss Tire is actually a locally owned Vermont "chain" store, so assuming all the other stores have the same sale, there is no need to go down to Rutland.

http://www.gosstire.com/index_files/Page439.htm

I have Blizzaks and love them. I can highly recommend.

 

[Hawkshot99]

I got 4 Dunlop sj6 I think. They are awsome in the snow for My honda CRV. In fact they are too good. I can no longer go do donuts in parking lots, as they have too much traction. Has not hurt my mileage either.

Paid $420 for 4 tires, 4 steel rims, mounting and then $80 shipping. All from Tirerack.com Also got a $50 bmail in rebate at the time of purchase, so $450 total for rims and tires.

 

[andrec10]

Put Michelin Alpin Latitudes on the Tribeca and what a beast in the snow. Even the wife said wow on Ice! I have the X-ice on the CRV and that made all the difference as well. I have tried Toyo snows in the past, but did not care for them

 

[billski]

the moral of the story seems to be, "any snows are better than no snows"

 

[SkiDork]

I've put some massive mileage on Nokian Hakapolitas (sp?) for the past 3 years (on the recommendation of Geoff ) and they've held up VERY well...

 

[skijay]

I like my Blizzak DM-Z3 snow tires. I also bought steel wheels to mount them on for winter driving.

 

[ctenidae]

the moral of the story seems to be, "any snows are better than no snows"

While I agree on this point, absolutely, I'm wrestiling with the value of snow tires at all on my current car. It's a rear wheel drive sport sedan, and setting it up with snow tires will cost $1000 or so, and requires a second set of rims dedicated to snows.

The car will not be used for ski trips, unless I get the $300 worth of racks I'd need (the back seat doesn't fold down (wtf?) and there's no pass-through (wtf x2- didn't even think to look at that feature, as I'm so use to it being standard)), and even then probably not- we have an AWD SUV for that.

So, for the few days a year when driving to work that it's snowy, does it make sense to spend the money and sacrifice dry pavement fun? I'm leaning towards no, but then I've only had the car for 2 weeks, and only had one slick-ish day, which wasn't actually all that bad.

 

[billski]

While I agree on this point, absolutely, I'm wrestiling with the value of snow tires at all on my current car. It's a rear wheel drive sport sedan, and setting it up with snow tires will cost $1000 or so, and requires a second set of rims dedicated to snows.

The car will not be used for ski trips, unless I get the $300 worth of racks I'd need (the back seat doesn't fold down (wtf?) and there's no pass-through (wtf x2- didn't even think to look at that feature, as I'm so use to it being standard)), and even then probably not- we have an AWD SUV for that.

So, for the few days a year when driving to work that it's snowy, does it make sense to spend the money and sacrifice dry pavement fun? I'm leaning towards no, but then I've only had the car for 2 weeks, and only had one slick-ish day, which wasn't actually all that bad.

In that scenario, I wouldn't bother with snows. When I'm faced with that situation, I always just travel to work earlier and come home late just to avoid sitting in !@$% traffic.

I made the investment you just described, but it's because I now seek out the freshies, and I plan to keep my car a loooong time.

Honestly, I drove for 25 years without snow tires and went skiing. I just didn't go up until I was certain the roads were plowed and was willing to drive more slowly. I'd never go back to rear wheel drive, unless I was living in So Cal.

 

[ctenidae]

I'd never go back to rear wheel drive, unless I was living in So Cal.

It was a decision influenced largely by the enjoyment factor. Perfectly practical for my current and mid-term needs. But yeah, RWD was a sticky point- unfortunately the AWD version doesn't come in a 6-speed.

I will say the tires I've got are fantastic on the dry, but are very nearly racing slicks. Getting in and out of on-street parking spaces in Boston this weekend was, well, interesting.